Page 120 of Tyrant

“No,” Bridgette says. “No… it can’t…”

“She’s a fucking liability,” I say. “That’s what you’ve done to her. You wanted this, right? You wanted her out of the house. You wanted her tortured. You wanted her dead.”

Bridgette weeps. A defeated woman. Her plans all fucked up. The reality of her own pending death tickling the back of her neck. She shakes her head.

I grab her by the throat and make her look up at me.

“Tell me,” I growl. “Or I will fucking torture you. I’ll keep you in this chair and make you watch as your stepdaughter’s body rots day by day. I’ll cut off a body part each day. Toes. Fingers. Up to the first knuckle. Then I’ll do it again and again. I’ll keep you alive though. For weeks. Maybe longer.”

“I needed to see the files,” Bridgette says.

“What files?” I growl.

“Her father was supposed to be part of your thing. I needed proof of it.”

“Whatthing?”

“You know what I mean, Tyrant. The masks. The robes. The secret rooms. The meetings. All of it. I know. I saw stuff. What’s it called…legion…? Right?”

Every muscle in my body flexes.

“He was supposed to be part of it,” Bridgette says. “He gave it up for a woman though. A true love story, right? Sound familiar to you?”

“Watch your fucking tone or I will cut your tongue out,” I warn.

“He fell in love and left it all. For a woman. He went out and made his own life. He gave up a life of power for love. And how did it work out? She gave birth to Serafina. Then she ended up dying.”

I curl my lip.

“I heard rumors about that place. I knew someone who went there. She was taken in the middle of the night and I never got to see her again. There were rumors. That the place is like some military camp or something. That you’re changed somehow. I wanted to know everything about it. I wanted in. I wanted power. Okay? Serafina’s father was easy to win over. A grieving man with a daughter? Almost too easy. He was a decent guy. Too honest for power, I could see that. I thought I could figure it out. Sway him into going back or something. Money is nothing without power. I did not want to be some useless housewife…”

She shakes her head and looks at Serafina.

“Then her father died,” Bridgette continues. “That hit home for me for a while. It hurt to lose him. Made me realize I cared about him. Then suddenly I was a single mother. A stepmother. Alone. With a kid that wasn’t mine. The money has been nice. But it’s not enough.”

“You really did want to get rid of her,” I say.

“Opportunities became available,” she says.

I grab her throat harder. I push, really fucking hard. She gags and tries to scream but has no air. I release my hold and she coughs. Cries some more.

“What do you want from me?” Bridgette screams. “It’s done. It’s over. Look at what happened?!”

“What you fucking caused,” I say. “You sent her toSinners Academy. You paid them all off, didn’t you? That’s how she got in. She sets a fire at home and you used that. Along with her father’s money and prestige. You fucking cunt. And all this time, Des and Danielle had been waiting for a chance to get back at me. Fuck.”

“Now what?” Bridgette asks. “You know everything. What are you going to do? Did you kill Danielle? If you did, she can’t tell anyone a thing. Same with me. Same with… Serafina…”

Bridgette suddenly looks so tired and weak. See, some people think they want power and think they can handle it. In reality power isn’t an easy thing to hold.

“I guess this is your lasting image, Bridgette,” I say. “Staring at your dead stepdaughter. Knowing you’re the reason she’s gone. Jealous over money. And power. Of course her father left her more than you. That drove you crazy. And crazy wants power. But crazy can’t handle power. This is what happens.”

“No,” Bridgette says. “No!Nnnnoooooo!”

Oh, she’s freaking the fuck out right now. Another part of having power is understanding eventually you will lose it. And when that time does come, you face it with a sense of pride and acceptance. You stare death right in its fucking eyes and whisper,Do it.

Bridgette screams and thrashes. She’s useless to me now. She thinks Serafina is dead.

The cinderblock tied around Danielle’s neck? That wasn’t the only cinderblock I found. I reach for the one I brought inside and hold it high in the air. It only seems fitting I give Bridgette the same attention she gave to her stepdaughter.

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